Halloween is tomorrow, and scary movies are everywhere. From the "Halloween" reboot and "Venom" in the theaters to countless horror movies running on TV and available on demand, it will be pretty easy for your children to get their fill of frights over the next few days. But can they handle it? Common Sense Media offers a guide to [...]
As we watch the Kavanaugh hearings today, and we watch the incredible political developments these days in general, we must find ways to talk with our sons and daughters about the concept of truth. How to tell it, how to determine it, the importance of standing up for it. (We must also find ways to talk with our sons [...]
Want to know where to find great children's books featuring Black and Brown characters? Looking for new titles to add to your children's bookshelves? Want some help on how to raise an avid reader? Here Wee Read is here for you. Here Wee Read is a website (with a great Instagram account, @hereweeread) that finds and reviews children's books [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday pays tribute to Arthur Mitchell, the founding director of the wonderful Dance Theater of Harlem, who died yesterday at the age of 84. Mitchell, born and raised in Harlem, was the first black ballet dancer to achieve international stardom when he was a principal dancer with The New York City Ballet, where he danced from 1956 [...]
Now that your son has gotten his first few weeks of school under his belt, here are a few areas to check in and focus on: School Supplies, Backpack: Does your son have the proper supplies for all of his classes? Does he need extra folders for the handouts from class? Does the math teacher require graph paper notebooks? [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday features poems to share with middle school (or younger) children as they settle back into the school rhythm. We start with "Who Has Seen The Wind", a classic that introduces youngsters to the mysteries of science. We continue with the fun nonsense poem "Eletelephony", and end with "Sick", a Shel Silverstein classic which is sure to [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday pays tribute to the renowned poet Sonia Sanchez, who recently was awarded the 2018 Wallace Stevens Award by the Academy of American Poets. The award is given annually to one poet to recognize his or her outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry, and carries a stipend of $100,000. Poet, playwright, and children’s book [...]
GCP co-hosted the Back-to-School #ReadinessCheck Chat last Wednesday, along with @BeALearningHero, @GreatSchools, @NationalPTA and other education advocates. This lively session offered a lot of great suggestions as to how parents can best help their children to be ready for a strong start to the school year. Here are some of the highlights: How to Prep For the New School [...]
On June 14, 2017, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden (one of the subjects of last week's Thoughtful Thursday) appointed Tracy K. Smith as the twenty-second United States Poet Laureate. In case you were wondering, the U.S. Poet Laureate serves as the official poet of the United States, and seeks to promote a greater national appreciation of the reading and [...]
Tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM (Eastern Standard Time), please join Ground Control Parenting, Learning Heroes, GreatSchools and National PTA for a Twitter chat discussion on how parents can help children succeed in the upcoming school year. We will be sharing ideas and resources, using the hashtag #ReadinessCheck. We at GCP are so excited to join this national conversation about [...]